Portable continuity object

ABSTRACT

A method for providing continuity over a series of transactions is provided, comprising the steps of (a) creating a Portable Continuity Object (PCO) as a defined digital package by an instance of PCO software executing on a computerized appliance also capable of communication transaction; (b) providing identity of a person, an address of a communication device and a continuity context in the PCO; (c) sharing the PCO in related transactions, with the PCO updated with information concerning individual transactions by digital equipment enhanced with an instance of PCO software; and (d) providing context continuity in succeeding transactions by accessing the PCO by one or both parties to a transaction.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention is in the broad field of telecommunications, andpertains more particularly to enhancing continuity in communicationtransactions.

2. Description of Related Art

Call center (CC) operations and the machine intelligence providing manyintelligent functions, such as agent-level routing, parallel datatransfer and the like is a well-developed art. Most persons are familiarat least with contacting a call center in an attempt to access customerservice for a hardware or a software problem or to update a product orsoftware, for example. Such persons will understand that a servicerequest may not always be satisfactorily resolved in a single call.Sometimes one or more call-backs will be necessary, and sometimes therequesting customer may have to be referred to another call CC or evenanother enterprise. Many products and services, for example, areprovided through enterprise partnership.

Existing solutions typically require businesses (e.g. call centers) tomaintain customer information and business context in some combinationof locally managed systems, such as CRM systems, LDAP repositories, andso forth. Businesses typically supply customers with short tokens, suchas case IDs and ticket numbers, and rely upon the customer to supplythese tokens on subsequent inquiries related to the service. Subsequentinteractions typically consist of a workflow at least similar to thefollowing:

-   -   1. Customer interacts with business over some medium, and is        prompted to recall the service token.    -   2. Agent and customer wait while the token ID is located.    -   3. Agent and customer wait while customer and service        information is pulled from the CRM or other data repository.    -   4. Customer's identity is confirmed.    -   5. Service is continued.

This workflow simply reflects operations at a single call center, andthe workflow becomes ever more complicated and more frustrating in thecase of operations and multiple contacts spanning different call centersand different enterprises.

What is clearly needed is a portable continuity object that is not acaptive of a single call center or a single enterprise, that willprovide interfaces for obtaining and submitting business context andother data, providing a unified view of customer activity, therebyenabling enhanced personalization and continuity of service.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The inventors have recognized a need for providing continuity acrossseries of communication transactions, and accordingly have provided amethod for providing continuity over a series of transactions,comprising the steps of (a) creating a Portable Continuity Object (PCO)as a defined digital package by an instance of PCO software executing ona computerized appliance also capable of communication transaction; (b)providing identity of a person, an address of a communication device anda continuity context in the PCO; (c) sharing the PCO in relatedtransactions, with the PCO updated with information concerningindividual transactions by digital equipment enhanced with an instanceof PCO software; and (d) providing context continuity in succeedingtransactions by accessing the PCO by one or both parties to atransaction.

In one embodiment changes made to a PCO are always copied back to a homestorage for the PCO. Also in an embodiment accessing in step (d) isautomatic by an appliance executing an instance of PCO software. In someembodiments accessing comprises displaying text, video and or providingaudio via one or more peripherals coupled to the appliance.

In some embodiments the PCO is created and stored by at a station usedby an individual initiating a first of a series of transactions. Inother embodiments the PCO is stored at a third-party network locationand is accessible and usable by PCO-compatible equipment at otherlocations.

In some embodiments of the method there are steps for storing in andexecuting machine-readable code from the PCO. The machine-readable codeprovides an interactive interface and interactivity with the interfacemakes alterations in data in the PCO.

In another aspect of the invention a Portable Continuity Object (PCO)for providing continuity over a series of transactions is provided,comprising a defined digital package created by an instance of PCOsoftware executing on a computerized appliance also capable ofcommunication transaction, identity of a person, an address of acommunication device and a continuity context stored in the PCO,functionality in the PCO enabling updating of information in the PCO inrelated transactions, with the PCO updated with information concerningindividual transactions by digital equipment enhanced with an instanceof PCO software, and functionality in the PCO for accessing informationin the PCO by one or both parties to a transaction.

In one embodiment of the PCO changes made are copied back to a homestorage for the PCO. Also in an embodiment accessing information in thePCO is automatic by an appliance executing an instance of PCO software.Accessing information in the PCO may comprise displaying text, video andor providing audio via one or more peripherals coupled to the appliance.

In some embodiments the PCO is created and stored by at a station usedby an individual initiating a first of a series of transactions. Inother embodiments the PCO is stored at a third-party network locationand is accessible and usable by PCO-compatible equipment at otherlocations.

In some embodiments there may be functions for storing in and executingmachine-readable code from the PCO. The machine-readable code mayprovide an interactive interface and interactivity with the interfacemakes alterations in data in the PCO.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an architectural overview of a network wherein a portablecontinuity object may be used in an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatical representation of a portable continuityobject in an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram representing elements and functionality at acomputerized station in an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is an architectural overview of a network wherein a portablecontinuity object may be used in an embodiment of the present invention.Call center 101 is typical of many call centers in that it may be adually-capable center, meaning that the center may process interactionssourced from a connected telephone network like a public switchedtelephone network (PSTN) 102 and interactions sourced from a connectedwide-area-network like Internet network 100, both illustrated in thisexample logically using network cloud icons. Networks 100 and 102 areillustrated as physically separate from one another in this embodiment,however one with skill in the art of network communication willappreciate the physical ambiguity between the two networks in actualpractice.

Call center 101 includes a local area network (LAN) 115 adapted in thisexample with transfer control protocol over Internet protocol (TCP/IP)and other network protocols required to enable LAN 115 as a connectedsub-network of Internet network 101. LAN 115 supports an IP router (RTR)114 having connectivity to an Internet network backbone 112 by way of anInternet access line 113. A variety of Internet connection techniquesmay be utilized to connect LAN 115 to Internet 100, including direct T-Xconnectivity on a 24/7 basis, broadband, wireless, digital subscriberline (DSL), Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) and so on. An Internet serviceprovider (ISP) not illustrated may also be assumed present in thisexample in cases where service is brokered through a third partyprovider.

Call center 101 functions to service interactions (transactions, such asemails and voice calls) on behalf of one or more enterprises, andprovides call center services to customers of those enterprisesincluding, but not limited to sales and servicing of clients thatpatronize the one or more enterprises represented by the center.Backbone 112 in Internet 101 represents all of the lines, equipment, andconnection points that make up the Internet network as a whole.Therefore there are no geographic limitations to the practice of thepresent invention. In some cases CC 101 is hosted by a single enterprisefor servicing clients (customers) of that enterprise.

Backbone 112 supports at least one Web server (WS) 110 adapted to serveelectronic information pages known in the art as Web pages typicallymaintained in the server as hypertext transfer protocol pages addressedby universal resource locator (URL) for electronic access by usersoperating Internet-capable appliances. An enterprise hosting call center101 may maintain one or more Web sites having one or more associated Webpages in WS 110 that are accessible to the general public represented byan arrow 111 labeled “visitors”. Visitors 111 represent any usersaccessing one or more Web pages of an enterprise served by call center101. Such visitors may operate desktop computers, smart telephones,personal digital assistants (PDAs), laptop computers, or otherInternet-capable appliances. Generally speaking, an enterpriserepresented by call center 101 and having a Web site accessible throughWS 110 is a commercial enterprise engaged in sales and service to acustomer base.

The Web site maintained by such an enterprise as described above mayinclude a commercial page where customers may browse products andservices and make online purchases. Other customer interfacing pages mayalso be present in an enterprise Web site such as a forum, a technicalservice page, an account management page, a registration page, a loginpage, a general contact page, and other informative Web pages thatexplain the benefits of products and services offered.

Call center 101 maintains a central office switch (CS) 107 within thecall center physical domain. CS 107 may be an automated call distributor(ACD) type switch or a private branch exchange (PBX) switch or someother suitable switch capable of processing incoming telephone calls. CS107 is computer telephony integrated (CTI) by a CTI processor 108connected to the switch by a CTI link. CTI processor 108 providesintelligent call processing control to switch 107. CS 107 hasconnectivity to a local network switch 103 in PSTN 102 by way of atelephone trunk 106. Switch 103 is a PBX switch in this example and mayalso be enhanced for call processing control intelligence by a CTIprocessor maintained at network level, but not shown.

CTI processor 108 is connected to LAN 115 within call center 101. Inthis way information solicited from callers registered at switch 103 maybe routed over LAN to agents even before incoming calls are connected tothe agents. PBX 103 may have an instance of interactive voice response(IVR) 131 adapted to interface with callers that call into call center101 using some provided number such as a toll free 1-800-numberregistered at switch 103. PSTN calls into switch 103 that are destinedfor call center 101 are represented herein by a directional arrowlabeled “calls” with the element number 104. Due to the seamless natureof network bridging, calls into switch 103 may source from anywhere in aconnected telephone network or from anywhere in Internet 100 such as byusing voice over Internet protocol (VoIP).

CS 107 is connected to internal call center telephones by way ofinternal telephone wiring 132. LAN 115 supports agent workstationsillustrated herein as stations 124(1-n). Each agent workstation 124(1-n)has a computer appliance and a telephone appliance in this example.Agent workstations 124(1-n) are typically manned by live call centeragents who handle interactions incoming into the call center throughcall center access points switch 103 and switch 107 or WS 110. Agentsmay handle voice calls, email requests, and may also engage customersthrough a chat interface or an instant message interface. More equipmentmay be present within the agent workstations without departing from thespirit and scope of the present invention. In this example, eachtelephone in agent workstations 124(1-n) has a connection to switch 107via internal telephone wiring 132. Each computing appliance illustratedin this example is LAN connected. It will be apparent to the skilledartisan that the hardware/software mix at an agent station may varyconsiderably from the example described.

Digital transactions may be routed to agents operating at stations124(1-n) through RTR 114. Transactions incoming to center 101 may beintercepted at switch 103 by IVR 131 before being forwarded to switch107 for final destination routing. Utilizing IVR services at the networklevel allows for agent level routing occurring at switch 107. In oneembodiment CTI and IVR enhancement is provided in switch 107 instead ofat switch 103 within PSTN 102.

A Web page belonging to a company Web site may include contact optionsthat users may launch or initiate from the Enterprise Internet site. Forexample, a floating or static contact interface may be provided within acontact page or other Web page that contains several options for usersto engage call center resources. Typical options include email, chat,and scheduled call back options. In some cases an inbound toll freenumber is provided for placing an immediate inbound telephone call intothe call center.

LAN 115 supports a statistics (STAT) server 117 adapted to compilereal-time and predictive statistics relative to call center resourcestates and operations. STAT server 117 has a digital medium providedtherein or made accessible thereto for storing the data and SW enablingserver function. Servable statistics may include estimated waiting time(EWT) in queue, actual call load incoming into the center for routing,predicted call loads projected out in time, and actual and predictedavailability statistics on resources of the call center, moreparticularly, live agents.

LAN 115 supports a universal routing server (URS) 116 adapted to provideintelligent routing instruction upon request to systems like IVR 131 andRTR 114. URS 116 may subscribe to certain statistics to aid indetermination of availability for routing interactions. LAN 115 supportsa universal connection server (UCS) 125 adapted to provide a universalrecord of ongoing and queued interactions of any supported media type aswell as to record statistics relative to processing and state of thoseongoing and pending interactions. URS 116 and UCS 125 have digitalmediums provided therein or otherwise made accessible thereto thatcontain all of the data and SW to enable server function. A generalqueue 126 is illustrated in this example and is connected to UCS 125.Queue 126 logically represents interactions that have been routed andare waiting in queue for available resources like live agents forexample.

Callers into center 101 that are registered with switch 103 aremonitored during the IVR prescreening by a monitoring SW 130 running onCTI processor 105. IVR callers may be monitored for interactivebehavior, mood, and, or interactive responses to IVR prompts. Themonitoring process detects all of the callers and monitors theinteractions of each caller with the IVR. LAN 115 supports a rankingserver (RS) 118 that is adapted to rank the importance of callersmonitored during IVR interaction by monitoring SW 130 with the aid of aranking SW 129 running on the ranking server. Ranking server 118 has adigital medium provided therein or otherwise made accessible thereto forenabling server function.

A data repository 119 labeled R-Data for reservation data is providedand connected to RS 118 running ranking SW 129. Repository 119 containscall reservation data relative to reserved call opportunities madeavailable to visitors 111 and callers 104 as a result of favorableranking. For example, qualified callers 104 interacting with IVR 131 maybe offered a call reservation opportunity at a later time if currentstatistics indicate that there are no available resources within thecenter to handle the call immediately. Likewise, repository 119 containscall reservations made available to Web visitors 111 who are qualifiedand where no available resources are available to handle immediate liveinteraction. In this specification the distinction between callers andvisitors is that visitors are accessing a Web-based access point whereascallers are interacting by voice call. However, in the abstract sense,visitors and callers are treated much in the same way through theirrespective interfaces. Therefore the term visitor may be used in thisspecification to refer to both callers and Web visitors.

A Portable Object Server 120 connected to LAN 115 executes software froma machine-readable medium for dealing with Portable Objects (PO) thatare a subject of the present patent application. Server 120 is coupledto a dB 121 in which portable objects may be maintained in an embodimentof the invention.

A second call center 134 is indicated in FIG. 1, and may be implementedand structured much like CC 101, or may be structured and implementedmuch differently than CC 101. CC 134 may be hosted by the sameenterprise that hosts CC 101, perhaps in a different geographic region,or may be hosted by a different enterprise entirely. While two callcenters 101 and 134 are indicated, there may be many other call centershosted by many other enterprises in such a network, and incoming callsand other digital transactions may be routed to any one of such callcenters.

Stations 136 1-n in FIG. 1 represent communication stations andappliances operated by individual persons who may request service fromany one of the call centers in the network represented in FIG. 1. Theseappliances and stations may include personal computers or laptops 138and individual telephony appliances 140, which may be connectionoriented telephones, cellular telephones, IPNT telephones, or any othersort of digital appliance that may support an ability to transact withone of call centers represented in the network by CC 101 and 134.Individuals using these appliances may initiate and conduct transactionswith IVRs and agents at call centers in the network. Individual ones ofthe stations 136 may be connected into the overall network in one ormore of several ways, such as by connection-oriented switched telephony(COST) apparatus, by cellular network, or by Internet connection of anyknown type and structure. Generally persons operating appliancesrepresented by stations 136 may transact with CCs to request and receiveservices of various sorts. Stations 136 are sources for COST calls 104,IP calls 142, and web visits 111.

As described in the Background section above, persons transacting withcall centers represented by CCs 101 and 134 may request and receiveservices over a series of transactions, rather than all in a singletransaction, before a satisfactory conclusion to a transaction purposeis concluded, and in the current art there may be clumsy delays anderrors made because of a lack of ability to quickly provided continuitybetween transactions that are related to a single or two closely relatedpurposes. The inventors provide a Portable Continuity Object (PCO) toenhance ability to quickly relate separate transactions to providecontinuity in context. Such an object may take any one of several forms,but in general is a standardized coded digital package, similar in somerespects to a digital data packet, having headers and a data body. ThePCO is capable of being stored in and retrieved from data bases andother data repositories, and may be attached to transactions such asemails, and transmitted in-band or out-of-band with voice data streamsof telephony transactions.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of a simplified example of a PCO 201 in oneembodiment of the invention. PCO 201 is in this example a package ofboth data and executable code, although both are not required in allinstances to constitute a PCO in an embodiment of the invention. PCO 201has three defined sections 202, 203 and 204. Section 203 encompassesdata entities that serve to identify a person, or in some cases morethan one person, communication appliances that are or may be associatedwith that person or persons, and an indication of a continuity context.

Typically a series of related transactions will be accomplished by oneperson, but in some cases more than one person. A man and wife may, forexample, initiate and conduct transactions all related in a singlecontext, for example arranging a loan with a bank, the loan to whichboth parties may be jointly responsible. In another example, a personwho initiates a series of context-related transactions may appointanother person to continue the series to a logical conclusion. So theheader portion for names and aliases will usually be one name, but insome cases may be several.

A singular purpose of the PCO is to provide quick association andcontext between related transactions in a communication environment thatmay encompass several networks and protocols. A person may begin such aseries by a visit to a web site using a lap-top computer, and maycontinue with a series of VoIP calls interspersed with emails sent fromthe same computer, or a different computer appliance, that was used inthe original web visit. For this reason IP addresses of appliances,telephone numbers and the like are all associated with the persons andthe transactions and added as context-related transactions proceed.

In addition to names and addresses, in a PCO a relationship needs beidentified. This relationship is the glue that binds the rest of thedata and code of the PCO. Typically a person will initiate and cooperatein a transaction for a purpose, and that purpose may not be fulfilled.It is that purpose that is the binder, but it is not necessary that thepurpose be spelled out in detail to provide the context. It is enoughthat an identifier be applied, which may be one of a series in astandardized library, that may be used to relate one transaction to anext transaction. This identifier is the continuity context.

It has been thus far described that the continuity is betweentransactions that are conducted on the way to a hopefully successfulconclusion of an initial purpose. An important part of the PCO thereforeis a body 203 wherein at least summaries of transactions may berecorded. In one instance entire transactions (emails, recorded voicecalls, text messages, etc.) may be recorded, typically in chronologicalorder. In other instances transactions may be reduced to metadata, orcoded indications of progress. These transaction recordings areretrievable and reviewable in a variety of protocols. For example, a PCOthat records a series of transactions for a person in a context may havebeen last interrupted by an email transaction, and now the person makesa COST call to a CC to (hopefully) conclude a purpose. The PCO mayaccompany the COST call or be transmitted in an alternate path to anagent to whom the COST call is routed. In the process the previoustransactions may all be translated into a form that the agent may accessand review, depending on the agents hardware and software capability. Inone embodiment this may be done by recording each transaction in severalprotocols allowing access and review by a variety of equipment andcommunication protocols.

As described briefly above, a context will typically be created by anunsuccessful conclusion of a transaction. If the purpose is fulfilled inthe original transaction, there is no need for a PCO. But in some casesthe purpose may change in the course of two or more transactions. Inthat case the content of the transactions will indicate the directionand probable outcomes.

Another important piece of a PCO in some embodiments is executable code.204. In some embodiments a summary of a previous transaction, when a newtransaction is in a different protocol, may be rendered in real time asneeded by the new transaction, using code called from portion 204. Codehere may also be called to do a variety of other tasks, or to call codefrom external sources to accomplish certain tasks, such as broadcastingtransactions on different networks in search of information or solutionsto purpose in context.

The PCO introduces a structured model and interfaces for managingservice and business context. Context may be generated by any customerservice application, be it running in a contact center, hosted in anetwork, or running on the subscriber's communication device. The PCOmay be stored, and advantageously so, on a communication appliance usedby a person seeking service, and/or centrally in the cloud or carriernetwork. Moving business context to the communication device, cloud, ornetwork enables stateless contact center operation. Interfaces areexposed allowing applications to receive or retrieve this context forthe purposes of continuing or personalizing a given service.

To create and use PCOs in embodiments of the present invention requiresan instance of compatible software executing from a machine-readablemedium on the appliance where creation and/or use occurs. FIG. 3 is adiagram illustrating one of the stations 136 of FIG. 1 in additionaldetail. In this example station 136 comprises a personal computer 138with a display monitor and a telephone appliance 140. Computer 138 maybe any one of several known personal computing appliances, such as alaptop, a PDA, a desktop computer, or any one of several others, andInternet connectivity is provided for computer 138 in any one of anumber of known ways. Appliance 140 may be a COST telephone connected toa COST line, a cellular telephone, a smart phone, or any other knownsort of telephony-capable communication appliance. In some casesappliance 140 may be connected and enabled through computer 138. In somecases appliance 140 may have Internet connectivity separate fromcomputer 138, such as through a cellular network. The representation ofstation 136 is meant to comprise any of a broad variety of customerpremises equipment (CPE) that is be capable of supporting communicationtransactions in embodiments of the present invention.

Computer 138 at station 136 in this example comprises a data repository301 for mass storage and SW storage, and an instance of PCO Software 302executes from memory 301 on computer 138. Computer 138 may be the onlycommunication device at station 136, and may be enabled by other SW tobrowse the Internet and to accomplish Internet Protocol Networktelephony (IPNT). Similarly telephony device 140, which may be any oneof several available devices as described briefly above, may be the onlycommunication device at the station, and may have local memory 303 fordata and SW. An instance of PCO SW 302 may execute on telephony device140.

Assume for sake of example that computer 138 is the only or the primarycommunication device. In this example, in one embodiment of theinvention, a user associated with computer 138 may make a call to a callcenter to seek aid in re-installing an instance of an applicationpreviously purchased and installed, that has begun to exhibit someproblems in execution. In this example, with SW 302 executing, the SWwill monitor the communication activity of the user with respect tocomputer 138. This activity may include web browsing, emails, IPNTcalls, and so on. Under certain pre-programmed instances SW 302 willcreate a new PCO and store that in data repository 404. In oneembodiment every instance of communication initiation, such as sendingan email or placing a call, will result in a new PCO. At the end of thecommunication transaction, or after a timeout, the new PCO may beautomatically deleted.

A new PCO created will be populated with the user's names and aliases,the computer's IP address or a virtual telephone number, and a record oftransaction #1. It may be, of course that the PCO is redundant and notneeded. In the present example, however, we have assumed the user iscalling a call center to address the issue of the misbehaving softwareapplication. Assume now that the PCO has been created, and the user isconnected to an agent at the CC. Assume as well that the CC is enabledwith compatible PCO SW operable at the agent's station. The PCO SW atthe agent's premise discovers that the caller is PCO, and retrieves acopy the new PCO from the caller. This may happen through an Internetparallel pathway, in-band signaling, or by any of several procedures. Insome case the CC may have record of the caller and stored knowledge thatthe caller is PCO compatible. In other cases there may be a pingingprocedure for discovery.

In the course of the transaction the agent discovers the identity of theproblem software, the configuration of the platform 136 that normallyexecutes the software, and the nature of the problem (it is an emailclient that no longer will allow the user to delete emails from theinbox). The PCO SW at the CC populates the PCO with a continuity contextas described above, and records the salient information about theproblem the transaction, and so on.

It happens that the agent at the CC is not qualified to correct theproblem for the caller, and instead determines to transfer the caller toanother agent at another CC, hosted by the same enterprise, that has ana agent eminently qualified to handle the problem. The caller istransferred, holds a short time in queue, and is connected to the newagent. The PCO, newly populated by the first agent, accompanies thetransfer and is also copied back to the caller and updated in PCOrecords 304 in data repository 301.

Now the value of the PCO becomes more apparent. When the caller isconnected to the new agent, the PCO is displayed to the new agent, whohas immediate access to the record of the first transaction, whichcomprises the information about the application, the platform, thenature of the problem and so on. It is not necessary for the secondagent to elicit the information anew from either the caller of the firstagent. Time is saved, satisfaction is more probable.

The second agent now leads the caller through a series of steps designedto solve the problem; but fails. The second transaction is recorded, atleast in summary detail, and the result is added to the PCO, which iscopied back to the caller's premise (memory 301). In the course of thesecond transaction the second agent authorizes a replacement copy of themisbehaving application, free of charge. To get the new application thecustomer has to visit a web site hosted by the enterprise. This info,including the authorization, is copied to the PCO.

The next day the caller uses the web browser of computer 138 to visitthe web site, the URL of which was provided by the second agent. The website is PCO as well, and retrieves a copy of the PCO when the originalcaller visits, and uses the transaction information to connect thevisitor to a page that has download facility for the needed application,and also accesses a code that the download has been authorized by thesecond agent. The download takes place smoothly. This information isadded to the PCO and copied back to the person who originated thecontinuity.

In some embodiments there may be a mechanism for the person at station136 to indicate, relative to a series of transactions, that the goal isachieved, at which point the PCO may be deleted. In other embodiments,PCOs are stored beyond satisfactory (or unsatisfactory) completion of acontext, and may be slated for elimination by age, say after one or twoyears. This latter process may be preferable, because, in someinstances, a context thought to be completed may be revived at a latertime, and an original PCO may be retrieved, and may prove to be useful.In other embodiments PCOs may simply be archived to, for example,removable memory.

In the example just discussed above, PCOs are originated by a personmaking an original call, and other facilities, such as web sites andcall centers, may be enabled with compatible software to deal with andutilize PCOs. It is of course necessary that transacting parties,through premises equipment, be enabled to process the PCOs. It is notnecessary, however, that the originating caller create, populate andstore and update the PCOs. For example, essentially the same systemdescribed above may be operable either as a server of client system at aCC, and the call-center may initiate, store, populate and update thePCOs. PCOs may also be stored and retrievable from a network site,either associated with a service provider, or as a third-party service.In this case PCOs may be originated, populated and updated by anytransaction premise equipment that is compatible and enabled, and may betransmitted to the third-party storage, where synchronization alwaystakes place.

There are other uses and functionality that may be integrated with PCOsas will be understood from the following use case. In this example acustomer, using a Smart Phone, calls a travel agency CC and buys avacation package from an agent at the CC. Either the customer or the CCoriginated a PCO. The PCO is copied to the customer repository 301. Inthe course of the purchase transaction, as a first transaction, anactionable itinerary is logged into the PCO. This becomes a part ofportion 204 of the generalized PCO of FIG. 2. In the vacation packagethe customer has paid for attendance at an opera in a city on theitinerary, and a bullfight at another city. Although these are paid,both require choice of day and time within the itinerary window. The PCOalerts the customer and enables choices to be made, which are thentransmitted to the necessary places. Once selected options areconfirmed, the itinerary is automatically updated. Later, the customermay choose to perform other updates to the itinerary.

Closer to travel date the actionable itinerary of the PCO alerts thecustomer for advance flight check-in and prompts discounted upgrade tobusiness class. Later the itinerary may alert the customer on otherupcoming events.

Given the examples and use cases described herein, it should be apparentto the skilled artisan that the PCO is indeed a unique digital PortableContinuity Object, that may be created, stored in various places, andupdated through a series of transactions, over a variety of networks,and in a variety of protocols, saving considerable time and effort intransacting business and pleasure. It will also be apparent to theskilled artisan that the examples described are truly examples of a muchbroader system and entities, and many different use cases might bedescribed, all within the breadth of the invention. The invention islimited only by the claims that follow.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method for providing continuity over aseries of transactions, the method comprising: establishing acommunications transaction between a call center having a processor anda computerized appliance, the computerized appliance storing a datapacket including context of a first transaction, wherein thecommunication transaction is via a first communications medium;receiving, by the processor from the computerized appliance, the datapacket in response to the communications transaction; updating, by theprocessor, the data packet based on an updated context of theestablished communications transaction, wherein the updating by theprocessor includes storing the updated context in the data packet for asecond transaction, and wherein the updated context indicates that thesecond transaction is unfinished; transmitting the updated data packetto the computer appliance; receiving by a second processor a request forinteraction by the computerized appliance via a second communicationmedium different from the first communication medium; receiving by thesecond processor the updated data packet storing the updated context;and retrieving by the second processor the updated data packet forprompting an action in response to detecting that the second transactionis unfinished.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the processor and thecomputerized appliance are each configured to execute softwarecompatible with the data packet, the software configured to create,read, and/or update the data packet.
 3. The method of claim 1, whereinthe computerized appliance is selected from the group consisting of:smartphone, laptops, desktop computers, Internet telephony devices, andpersonal digital assistants (PDA).
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein thedata packet further includes executable machine readable codes.
 5. Themethod of claim 1 further comprising deleting the data packet if a goalof the context is met during the established communications transaction.6. The method of claim 1 further comprising saving the data packet uponcompletion of the communications transaction for a set amount of time.7. The method of claim 1, wherein the communications transaction is atelephony transaction, and the data packet is transmitted in-band orout-of-band with voice data streams.
 8. The method of claim 1, whereinthe communications transaction is selected from the group consisting of:an email transaction, an Internet telephony transaction, and a webbrowser based transaction.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the datapacket further includes one or more selected from the group consistingof: identity of a person using the computerized appliance, address ofthe computerized appliance, summary of the communications transaction,transaction emails, audio recordings, and text messages.
 10. A systemfor providing continuity over a series of transactions, the systemcomprising: one or more processors; and one or more memory devices,wherein the one or more memory devices have stored thereon instructionsthat, when corresponding portions of the instructions are executed bycorresponding ones of the one or more processors, cause the one or moreprocessors to respectively: establish a communications transaction witha computerized appliance, the computerized appliance storing a datapacket including context of a first transaction, wherein thecommunications transaction is via a first communications medium; receivefrom the computerized appliance the data packet in response to thecommunications transaction; update the data packet based on an updatedcontext of the established communications transaction, wherein theupdating includes storing the updated context in the data packet for asecond transaction, and wherein the updated context indicates that thesecond transaction is unfinished; transmit the updated data packet tothe computer appliance; receive a request for interaction by thecomputerized appliance via a second communication medium different fromthe first communication medium; receive the updated data packet storingthe updated context; and retrieve the updated data packet for promptingan action in response to detecting that the second transaction isunfinished.
 11. The system of claim 10, wherein the one or moreprocessors and the computerized appliance are each configured to executesoftware compatible with the data packet, the software configured tocreate, read, and/or update the data packet.
 12. The system of claim 10,wherein the computerized appliance is selected from the group consistingof: smartphone, laptops, desktop computers, Internet telephony devices,and personal digital assistants (PDA).
 13. The system of claim 10,wherein the data packet further includes executable machine readablecodes.
 14. The system of claim 10, wherein the instructions furthercause the one or more processors to delete the data packet if a goal ofthe context is met during the established communications transaction.15. The system of claim 10, wherein the instructions further cause theone or more processors to save the data packet upon completion of thecommunications transaction for a set amount of time.
 16. The system ofclaim 10, wherein the communications transaction is a telephonytransaction, and the data packet is transmitted in-band or out-of-bandwith voice data streams.
 17. The system of claim 10, wherein thecommunications transaction is selected from the group consisting of: anemail transaction, an Internet telephony transaction, and a web browserbased transaction.
 18. The system of claim 10, wherein the data packetfurther includes one or more selected from the group consisting of:identity of a person using the computerized appliance, address of thecomputerized appliance, summary of the communications transaction,transaction emails, audio recordings, and text messages.
 19. The methodof claim 1, wherein the context indicates that the first transaction isunfinished.
 20. The method of claim 19 further comprising: retrieving bythe processor the context from the data packet for prompting an actionin response to detecting that the first transaction is unfinished. 21.The method of claim 20, wherein the action in response to detecting thatthe first transaction is unfinished relates to the second transactionassociated with the first transaction, wherein the updated contextincludes information on the second transaction.
 22. The method of claim21, wherein the context contains data for completing the secondtransaction.